As a way of saying thanks to its many players this holiday season, EA / Playfish has released a free Outdoor Dance Party item in SimCity Social that's available to claim for a limited time.

To claim this item, you'll simply need to login before the game's New Year's Eve event ends, and then click on the "Get Reward" button on the pop-up that appears (it will contain the image at the top of this post). By clicking on that button, you'll automatically transfer into placement mode, where you can then place this Outdoor Dance Party anywhere you'd like. Its base requires five energy to build, and from there, you'll need two Ticket Stubs, eight Business Cards and two Community to finish it off.

Once the Outdoor Dance Party business is complete, it will generate 1,000 Simoleons every four hours, and it can be upgraded as you would upgrade other businesses by collecting building materials over time. For instance, the first upgrade of the Outdoor Dance Party requires four Foam Fingers, five Fury, one Flair and for Animal Mascots to unlock. This will increase the building's income by 50%.It's definitely odd that players are being forced to spend their hard-earned building materials on a "gift" in the game, but if you're interested in having this New Year's Eve themed item in your city, those building requirements are just something you'll have to accept. Perhaps next time, EA / Playfish will learn more about what a true gift should really be, no strings attached.

Did you already claim your free Outdoor Dance Party item? Do you think it's ok to be required to spend building materials to finish this item when its base was free to place? Or, do those extra building requirements nullify the fact that the base was free? Sound off in the comments!